Happily Ever After
by Kylara Kitsune
Summary: When Katie leaves her cheating husband, it's the Weasley twins she runs to for comfort.  But she finds more than friendship in the end.


**AN: If you recognise the characters, they're not mine. I guess that means they're not mine.**

He told me he'd love me forever. That's what he said when he placed this ring on my finger. I should have known he'd never really change his ways. He was a Slytherin back in Hogwarts, and I was a Gryffindor. You're sorted into a house for a reason, and I always said he was put into Slytherin because he was sneaky.

He's losing his touch though, because I found out. If you're going to tell your wife you're stopping late at work, then make damn sure your secretary knows. I made a floo call, to ask what time he was coming home, and she said he hadn't been in all day. Usually, I'd have gone to bed early, and been asleep by the time he arrived home, but after that discovery, I was going to wait up for him.

And it was a very long wait. He finally stumbled through the front door at 3am, not entirely drunk, and reeking of some cheap perfume. It takes him a while to realise I'm sitting here watching.

"Katie, honey." His voice is slurred, and he wobbles across the room towards me.

"Stay where you are, Marcus." He doesn't, so I stun him.

I don't want to stay here, in this house, any longer, but where can I go at this time of night? There's only one option, seeing as my parents were both killed in the war. The Weasley twins, Fred and George, would take me in, I know. And, they wouldn't ask any awkward questions – they'd just wait for me to tell them. Stuffing a few essentials in a bag, I apparate to their flat in Diagon Alley.

A bleary-eyed George opens the door.

"Katie?"

"Sorry, George, I've got nowhere else to go."

He steps back and opens the door wider. "Come in, Katie."

By this time, Fred has appeared as well. A lot of people still can't tell them apart, but I've always been able to. Fred hands me a mug of coffee, and takes my bag.

"You look like you need something stronger than that, but I can't find the firewhisky."

"This is fine," I tell him, and sit down gingerly on their sofa. This being the Weasley twins' flat, you can never be sure if they've got any inventions lying around. I still remember Neville and the Canary Creams.

When I've finished the coffee, and thankfully not turned into any sort of animal, I decide I'd better tell them what happened. I know they haven't asked, but they're clearly dying to know.

"Marcus cheated on me."

I'm expecting some nasty comments about Slytherins and never changing his ways, but they don't come. Instead, George hugs me, and Fred starts hunting in earnest for a bottle of alcohol.

"He said he was stopping late at work, but then he came home drunk… and… he'd been with some other woman."

"And then you came here?"

I nodded.

"So where is the stupid idiot now?"

"On the living room floor, where I stunned him."

"You stunned him? Way to go, Katie! Knew you had it in you."

They laughed at the thought of Marcus being stunned. I can't help yawning though, and they both notice. Just my luck.

"Katie Bell, you are going to bed. Now." Fred points me in the direction of the spare bedroom, and I more than willingly drag myself off the sofa, shuffle across the flat and collapse on the bed.

…………………

"Gred?"

"Yes, Forge?"

"I think it's time we paid old Flint a visit."

"I think so too."

Unbeknownst to Katie, they apparated to the house she shared with Marcus Flint, her soon-to-be-ex husband.

"Enervate."

Katie had done a really good job with the stunning spell, if Marcus was still out cold.

"Weasleys." He greeted them, slightly more politely than when they'd been in school.

They interrogated him for a while, then turned to leave.

"Oh, Flint. One more thing." George aimed his wand and muttered something under his breath. Leaving Marcus to find out what effect the spell had, the twins returned home.

……………………

"Which spell did you use on him?"

George laughed. "One I think Katie will really appreciate."

There was a voice from the doorway. "Perhaps you'd better tell me what you did, then."

"Katie!" George spluttered.

"We thought you were asleep." Fred sounded slightly guilty.

"Couldn't sleep." She shrugged. "So, you two going to tell me what this is all about?"

"We paid dear Marcus a visit."

"And let him know exactly what we think of his cheating."

"And we shrunk a certain part of his anatomy."

"It'll be back to normal in a few days, but I'd like to know what his mistress thinks of it."

They all sniggered at the thought of it.

"He deserved it, but you could have told me first."

"Katie, Katie, Katie. We thought you might stop us."

"I probably would. Or, I might have come with you."

"That's slightly worrying – you just pulled off a perfect Slytherin smirk."

"What can I say? I spent too long living with a Slytherin."

Brushing a lock of hair out of her eyes, she noticed the diamond ring still on her finger. Disgusted, she pulled it off and tossed it onto the coffee table.

"I'm owling that back to him in the morning."

"I'm surprised you two ever got married."

He wasn't too happy when I told him I wasn't going to take his last name. I'm a journalist, I need my name. Anyway, it was too late then, we were already married, though it did cause our first proper argument."

"How did his family take it?"

"He never told them. Said if they addressed me using his surname, I was to smile and answer them."

"He didn't know you too well, did he?"

"Oh, I answered them. To say that my name was Katie Bell and I'd prefer it if that's what they called me."

"Why did you stay with him after all that?"

"Because I still loved him, for some stupid reason."

…………………

They stayed there talking for hours. In fact, none of them realised what time it was until the fire glowed green and Angelina Johnson stepped out, brushing soot from her clothes.

"Fred? I thought we were meant to be going out today. Morning, George, Katie." She paused. "Katie? Not that it isn't nice to see you, but what are you doing here?"

"To cut a long story short, Angie, I'm leaving Marcus, and there wasn't anywhere else I could go at 3am."

"3am? You and me need to talk sometime soon."

"Lunch tomorrow?"

"Sounds good to me."

By this time, Fred was ready to leave. "Bye, you two. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." He winked.

As Fred and Angelina left, George declared, "That doesn't leave much, does it?"

"Not really."

Looking at the clock, George started to panic.

"I'm really sorry, Katie, but I need to open the shop."

"Since Fred's run off with Ange, do you want some help?"

"That'd be brilliant, if you don't mind."

"It'll give me something to do, other than moping around wondering what to do now."

Helping out in the very busy Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes occupied Katie's mind, and kept her from thinking about her cheating rat of a husband, Marcus Flint. Hopefully, he'd now discovered what the twins had done to him as they left.

It was several hours later, and Katie had gone to fetch a box of Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder from the storeroom. It was heavier than she'd expected, and the stepladders collapsed under her as she fell backwards. The box hit the floor and burst open, enveloping Katie in darkness. She screamed – she'd never been completely comfortable when she couldn't see.

"Katie?" George crashed through the storeroom door, and stopped. Realising what must have happened, he turned back to the shop.

"Everybody out, now. We're closed."

Once everyone had left, he locked the door and turned back to the problem at hand.

"Katie? Where are you?"

"George? Help!"

Casting Lumos, George knew, would be no help at all, so he resigned himself to feeling his way around the room. Luckily, she hadn't been too far from the door, so it didn't take long. As he sat down next to her, she clutched at his arm, then buried her face in his shoulder.

"Are you ok?"

"I just don't much like the dark."

He wrapped his arms around her, and realised she was shaking.

"Isn't there any way of… reversing what the powder does?"

"Sorry – it's just a case of waiting. We could try and find our way out though."

By this time, the powder's effect had spread throughout the shop. Getting out without causing everything else to fall over would be near impossible.

"I think I twisted my ankle when I fell off the steps, but I won't be sure until I see it."

"Looks like we're just going to have to sit it out, then."

Fred and Angelina arrived at the shop just as the darkness began to fade away. George and Katie were still sitting on the stockroom floor, hugging.

"George, dear twin brother of mine, I do hope you aren't taking advantage of poor Katie, here in the dark all by yourselves."

"A box of Peruvian darkness powder burst – we've been stuck here for ages." Katie explained, then attempted to get to her feet. However, as soon as she put any weight on her left foot, she collapsed again. George swept her up into his arms and carried her back upstairs to the flat.

"I'm just causing problems, aren't I?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Katie Bell." He set her down on the sofa, then sat next to her.

"As far as I'm concerned, you're welcome to stay here as long as you like. I doubt Fred will mind either."

"I just feel like I'm imposing."

He gave her as stern a look as he could manage.

"You aren't."

"George!" Angelina's voice called up the stairs. "Fred says he needs your help."

"I'm sorting out Katie's ankle."

Angelina appeared at the doorway. "I can do that, but I don't understand what Fred's talking about."

"Oh, ok then."

Giggling, Angelina sat in George's newly vacated seat. "He's got it bad for you, Katie. Really bad."

"Angie, don't be daft. We're just friends, and besides, I'm married."

"Not for long, you won't be. I'm taking you to see a lawyer so you can divorce that bastard."

"Ange…"

"We won't let you stay married to him. It's not fair on you."

"I don't want to stay married to him. But I still think you're making up the bit about George."

"You wouldn't turn him down if he asked you, though."

"Asked me what?"

"Are you being deliberately dense today? If he asked you out."

"No, I don't suppose I would. After the divorce is final. I'm not having him, or anyone else for that matter, dragged into it."

…………………

"Angelina, since when was my love life any of your business?"

"Since you fell broomstick over bananas for my best friend and everyone knows it except her."

"Ange, babe, I think you mangled that saying. It should be head over heels." Fred sniggered from the doorway, ready to duck if she aimed a jinx at him. She might be lousy at remembering muggle sayings, but she was damn good at hexes.

"Katie, I'm sorry about this."

"No, don't be." She paused. "And I would love to go out with you, when everything is sorted."

"Aww, sweet." Angelina couldn't help commenting – it was so unusual for the shy Katie to say something like that.

"You two, get out, now."

"George, I live here too, you can't tell me to…"

"I can and I am. Five minutes, please."

He waited until they'd closed the door behind them, then moved across the room to where Katie was sitting.

"I'm sorry you had to find out like this, and it wasn't how I'd have chosen to ask you, but… thank you for saying yes. It means a lot to me."

……………………

I thought marriage was forever at the time, but now I'm glad it isn't. George and I can be happy together – we know each other, have done for years. I think I've found my fairy tale ending, my happily ever after.

**AN: Aww, George/Katie fluff in the end. Time for you to leave a review, methinks. Please?**


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